Welcome to the Masquerade [Part 1]
09.04.08 14:13 Filed in: Life
Tonight at 180
Remix we
started a series called "Mind Games". I talked
about inadequacy and called it "Welcome to the
Masquerade". After my first point the tornado sirens
sounded and thus ended my message prematurely.
I wanted to post the rest of my notes on here
for anyone who wants to hear the rest of it.
I'll post it in 3 parts over the next few days.
Some of the most successful people I know deal with feelings of inadequacy.
INADEQUACY: An inability to fulfill a given purpose; General feelings of insufficiency [Wikipedia]
The interesting thing about inadequacy is that these feelings typically cause people to be very driven and successful in their lives. Thus may I say again, “Welcome to the Masquerade!” See you may have everybody fooled into thinking you have it all together, but let me be really clear... I may not know where you are with this issue right now, but God does. Those of us who deal most with this issue most deeply are probably those of us who nobody else would ever guess it.
Maybe you deal with inadequacy but instead of it pushing you to succeed you have the polar opposite effect--it cripples you to do anything of worth with your life. This has the potential to be a very freeing night for a lot of us in this room. This message will not change you--only God can do that... but in order for God to do so we have to be willing to leave our own little Masquerade. So let me ask you...
Are you willing to leave your masquerade??
It is at that point when God can really begin to use you. There was a man who was called of God. (Maybe you can relate?) He grew up in an affluent home. He had all the workings of success. In fact he was a leader. However, he didn’t see what God saw in him. He didn’t think the people God called him to lead would listen to him--he didn’t believe that he could make a difference. God spoke to him... (Have you ever had God speak something to you?) God told him to throw a stick on the ground and when he did it literally turned into a snake. It’s like something out of David Copperfield. Then God told him to pick it up by the tail and it turned back into a stick. Then in case that wasn’t enough God told him to stick his arm inside of his shirt and when he took it out it was leprous like snow. He put it back in his shirt and it was as healthy as before. To top it all off God told him to get a cup of water out of the river and pour it out on the land, when the drops of water hit the ground they turned into blood. True story. Imagine what it must have felt like to watch God perform real miracles without doing anything at all but listening.
Exodus 4:10-17
Moses started as a leader... he was the son of Pharaoh--ruler of Egypt. The Bible talks very little about his experiences in Pharaoh’s house but he had every natural opportunity to succeed. He is confident and steps in immediately when he sees injustice. He messes up and murders someone. But this doesn’t throw him off. He sees more injustice and immediately confronts it. That doesn’t work and he runs away. Maybe you’ve tried and nothing seemed to work out for you. So now you don’t even bother because you feel inadequate. Moses’ “feelings” were wrong... In fact in Acts 7:22 it says that he was, “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.”
It’s amazing to me how that happens. You can continue to make excuses for why you can’t be used by God but it’s all, uhhh let me think of the word for it... GARBAGE!! Hear this... there is no record of Moses’ speech impediment until after his feelings of inadequacy manifest themselves. The first time it is even mentioned is when God calls him.
You can have every success in the world trying to fill that void but it will never be filled until you decide to leave your masquerade and allow God to move in your life.
Some of the most successful people I know deal with feelings of inadequacy.
INADEQUACY: An inability to fulfill a given purpose; General feelings of insufficiency [Wikipedia]
The interesting thing about inadequacy is that these feelings typically cause people to be very driven and successful in their lives. Thus may I say again, “Welcome to the Masquerade!” See you may have everybody fooled into thinking you have it all together, but let me be really clear... I may not know where you are with this issue right now, but God does. Those of us who deal most with this issue most deeply are probably those of us who nobody else would ever guess it.
Maybe you deal with inadequacy but instead of it pushing you to succeed you have the polar opposite effect--it cripples you to do anything of worth with your life. This has the potential to be a very freeing night for a lot of us in this room. This message will not change you--only God can do that... but in order for God to do so we have to be willing to leave our own little Masquerade. So let me ask you...
Are you willing to leave your masquerade??
It is at that point when God can really begin to use you. There was a man who was called of God. (Maybe you can relate?) He grew up in an affluent home. He had all the workings of success. In fact he was a leader. However, he didn’t see what God saw in him. He didn’t think the people God called him to lead would listen to him--he didn’t believe that he could make a difference. God spoke to him... (Have you ever had God speak something to you?) God told him to throw a stick on the ground and when he did it literally turned into a snake. It’s like something out of David Copperfield. Then God told him to pick it up by the tail and it turned back into a stick. Then in case that wasn’t enough God told him to stick his arm inside of his shirt and when he took it out it was leprous like snow. He put it back in his shirt and it was as healthy as before. To top it all off God told him to get a cup of water out of the river and pour it out on the land, when the drops of water hit the ground they turned into blood. True story. Imagine what it must have felt like to watch God perform real miracles without doing anything at all but listening.
Exodus 4:10-17
Moses started as a leader... he was the son of Pharaoh--ruler of Egypt. The Bible talks very little about his experiences in Pharaoh’s house but he had every natural opportunity to succeed. He is confident and steps in immediately when he sees injustice. He messes up and murders someone. But this doesn’t throw him off. He sees more injustice and immediately confronts it. That doesn’t work and he runs away. Maybe you’ve tried and nothing seemed to work out for you. So now you don’t even bother because you feel inadequate. Moses’ “feelings” were wrong... In fact in Acts 7:22 it says that he was, “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.”
It’s amazing to me how that happens. You can continue to make excuses for why you can’t be used by God but it’s all, uhhh let me think of the word for it... GARBAGE!! Hear this... there is no record of Moses’ speech impediment until after his feelings of inadequacy manifest themselves. The first time it is even mentioned is when God calls him.
You can have every success in the world trying to fill that void but it will never be filled until you decide to leave your masquerade and allow God to move in your life.
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